As a founder of a business, you likely are not thinking about leaving the business, at least in the early stages of the business development. However, if you’ve ever entertained the thought of seeking investment dollars, an exit strategy ought to place itself high on your list of priorities. There are, fortunately, only a few [...]
Perhaps one of the more difficult things to assess in an interview is whether or not the candidate is competent in the needed area. After all, it can be quite easy to talk in a manner that indicates competence without actually being able to do the job, and it can be extremely time consuming to [...]
It’s a rare occurance on Dragons’ Den when an entrepreneur arrives with a valuation that is reasonable and a business worth investing in. This week, that happened, and perhaps there’s a reason why these entrepreneurs succeeded where many others have failed. Bryan McCrea, Channing McCorriston and Evan Willoughby came pitching their business, 3twenty Solutions, which [...]
I just finished reading a book by Scott Adams, author of the Dilbert cartoon, and was browsing through the list of his best quotes, as picked by his fans. There was one recurring theme, which I think was best expressed in the quote: If you think that offering excellent reasons for your thinking will change [...]
There’s a famous saying: No news is good news. which many believe to be true. In business, however, where other people are involved, whether they be customers, vendors or employees, little could be further from the truth. Not everyone likes to be informed of every little change, but when change is happening, people generally like [...]
A friend recently asked about how to develop her business, when all her prospective clients are requesting a service she does not offer. The service being requested is not, from the perspective of people who understand the industry, an assumed skill, and in this particular case, the friend does not have the skill, nor the [...]
Something many businesses struggle with in their early days is finding a name which identifies them. Sole proprietors may have it easy, since they can name it after themselves. However, as soon as additional people join the business, using your name to identify the business may not be the best idea. However, there are certainly [...]
Doug Burgoyne came on the den this week pitching his business Frogbox, which supplies hard plastic boxes as a rental in place of cardboard boxes. His pitch, coming in with a valuation of $1.2 million, was that the business is profitable (though apparently not yet to a significant level), and is designed to scale. The [...]
Elie Kochman is the author of Advice for Small Business Owners and the founder of Optimal Upgrade Consulting. Using his experience working in the corporate world along with his exposure to the world of small businesses, he writes these articles to assist others avoiding common pitfalls of growing a business. His experience in the corporate world, building his own business, and working directly with other growing businesses has given him some perspective on the trials and pains of running a business.
